Mercury
The Realm of God on Mercury Trinity Station is the base of power for Catholic Christianity. It is run very much like the Vatican city, and it is a group of 4 O'Neill cylinders (3 of them being 20 km long and one being 40km) tied together in a cross, which orbits in Mercury’s twilight zone. Here is a rundown of the four and the large central section. # Father - This is the hub for technology and development in the station. It houses the servers for the ChurchNet, a virtual world run like a giant Christian Minecraft Server. The section is also home to vast libraries housing hundreds of exabytes of data on the history of the Church (but mainly just ChurchNet files). # Son - This is home to the greatest art district in the solar system, with special residences offered to the great artists. It is also home to famous writers, musicians, philosophers, chefs and even the most influential programmers of the ChurchNet. No Intersolar grand tour is complete without a visit to the Son cylinder. # Holy Spirit - Being the top part of the station, the Holy Spirit Cylinder is home to the residences of the Vatican’s 500 Cardinals and the Pope, along with hundreds of thousands of church officials. It is also home to the Swiss guard who are now teamed up with swiss designed ‘Transformers’ (large robots that can turn into short range spacecraft that enforce order among the planets). It is also home to the largest church in the Universe, probably, a gigantic 5 kilometer long monolith that can seat a quarter million people. # Man - This is the largest of the Cylinders, home to the working class that help keep the station afloat, as well as tourists who fell in love with Trinity Station. It is pretty much like any other O'Neill cylinder except that it has a lot more hotels, agri-factories and a larger industrial area. It is mainly home to Latinish people (basically every single Catholic Nation rolled into one Language and Culture. Mainly Dominated by Spanish, Portugese, with hints of Italian, Catalan, French and Polish). # At the center of Trinity station lies it’s most important part and number 1 tourist attraction: Rome. The city was Earthlifted in 2331 due to an outbreak of a massive war, and transported to Luna before making it to the Mercurian Orbit. It possesses expensive flat anti-gravity systems using Brown Gravitators instead of the usual centrifuge. Rome is home to monuments made by the Roman Empire and the greatest works of the renaissance. The center is about 10 miles wide, and the Gravitator works on both sides, so Venice, Florence and Bologna were plucked out of Italy and sent to Trinity as well, just on the opposite side of Rome, and an environment was terraformed to fit all of them. ' ' Trinity Station was built in the 2330’s to be a base for the Catholic Faith incase Rome and the Church fell. The station was completed in 2345, and it held the record of the largest space station in the solar system for 4 years until the completion of Gagaria. It survived the Great Intersolar crisis, as Mercury was a generally unremarkable world. The station is home to a relatively large food production, industrial and waste management systems, but it can only rely on them for 20 years. Luckily, every day on Mercury (about 53 days on Earth), a space elevator links up with Trinity and delivers a massive package of supplies. In case that elevator breaks, an army of tugs pulls it to another elevator on Mercury, where the cycle continues. So far it has only had to do this once, when the elevator was attacked in 2666 (hmmm...) during the waning years of the Intersolar crisis. The Dyson Corporation The idea to construct a dyson swarm has been around for a thousand years, and if constructed it would bring gargantuan amounts of power and energy to the Solar System. The company was founded in 2154, but saw little action except for landing a few people on Mercury with the intention of creating a colony that would later dismantle the planet and construct a swarm of small probes that would generate solar energy. 150 panels, each 1 km long squares harvested from the Mercurian had been constructed before the company shut down due to the Great Intersolar Crisis. It was refounded in 2805, and it constructed 350 more panels and launched them into Orbit of the sun. There are plans to triple the operation speed, and with a new company plan in place it should be possible to construct one panel in a year, which could get much faster later on. The A.I. leaders of the corporation plan to finish the swarm within 5 millenia. Each panel is home to a thousand people that operate it and control its energy flow. These people are mostly Abbasinyans, Sudanese, Guianan, Korean and Burmese, but several minority groups exist as well. There are also several large construction yards on the Mercurian surface, and many more are being built right now. The Dyson Corporation is a meritocracy, run by artificial intelligence. Children born to parents in the corporation are not allowed to leave unless they have completed a 5 year work quota, but this surprisingly does not happen. The corporation has remarkable living standards and relax working hours, so many people wilingly sign up to be a part of it, despite it technically being slavery. There are about a billion people in the corporation (who mainly reside on Mercury), making it the largest one in human space. In addition to owning the Dyson Swarm modules, the Corporation operates space stations in the orbit of the sun, as well as a tourist attraction where people can go to a tube on the surface of the sun. On top of this, the corporation owns space stations of various sizes in Mercurian orbit and it transfers electricity across the solar system in a web of laser arrays attached to each swarm unit. The Northern Retreats Most of the Mercurian population lives underground in massive arcologies, and these own large terrariums on the surface of the planet (with extra UV protection). These habitats open up large solar arrays to gather energy during the day, and have internal lighting in the night. The planet is pretty populated, with 5 billion inhabitants (including the employees of the Dyson Corporation), making it the 5th most populated body in the solar system. The North of Mercury is known for having quaint religious retreats, as well as having generally peaceful governments. There are 5 major nations, Asadullah, Kuwakerstan, Nestoria, St. Mark and Philosoferina, with many smaller settlements scattered in between. All of these are liberal theocratic nations, and are generally considered great places to live, even if you do not belong to the dominant faith. Keep in mind, while these may seem like small 17th century New England colonies, these are actually massive nations with the surface area the size of Poland and populations in the tens of millions, with large cities holding millions on the surface and even larger cities in gigantic caverns that go hundreds of miles deep. All of these nations are part of the Miai accordant, a free trade and military alliance, which has given them a strongly knit bond. Here are the five largest powers in the region: Asadullah is a nation based around a sufi islamic sect, with most of its population being of German, American and French descent. The sect originated in 2048, when a German man who converted to Islam started a small Islamic community in Dresden, but was lynched by German Nationalists 15 years later. His sect spread in the western world, and in 2305 they founded a colony on Mercury. They speak an arabised dialect of Denglish, and they run a democratic government with strict anti-corruption laws, otherwise being very liberal. When Iran managed to undergo a democratic revolution in the 2030’s, Christianity began to spread quickly through the country, with 10% of the country being christian by 2150. One branch that took hold were the Quakers, and they made up 30% of Iran’s Christian population. They were still not treated the best by the rest of Iran, so they formed a Mercurian colony in 2291 and settled into the region, forming Kuwakerstan. The country is mostly Persian, with large Kurdish, Turkmen and Pashtun minorities, who speak an Anglified Persian language. A nation with a very similar backstory is Nestoria. The Nestorian resurgence occurred in around the 2370’s, when thousands of Christians across the Middle East and Central Asia converted to Nestorian Christianity, when earlier versions of the bible were found and transcripted. They set up a Mercurian colony around 2321, and it grew to become the largest of the Northern Retreats. It’s population is mainly Pastun and Turkestani, with smaller Persian and Arab populations. It is very close to Kuwakerstan due to the similar ethnic makeup and populations.They speak the same language as the Kuwakerstanis, as they had close contact. Saint Mark is made up of Coptic Orthodox colonists, mainly coming from Egypt, China and Japan (the latter two had the religion spread fast in the 22nd century). It was founded in 2307, and has the largest population of the nations in the Miai accordant. Philosoferina is a Victorianist colony formed a lot later after the rest, in 2721. In case you do not know, Victorianism was a religion formed by Victoria Kant, an Ashkenazi woman who saved the lives of a thousand by the power of God, who gave her the power of stopping the debris from colliding with a spacecraft she was piloting. While she was doing so, a 750 page book was revealed to her. The book was a mix of Christianity, Islam and some proven science, but regardless all the passangers of the vessel, who saw the action unfolding out of their windows all converted. Anyhow, Philosoferina was formed by the last living survivor of that spacecraft, an Afrikaans Preacher. It is mainly populated by the Dutch, Zulus, Boers and Americans, as well as hundreds of smaller ethnic communities. They mainly speak Afrikaans with a hint of Yiddish. The Craterlands''' ''' The bulk of Mercuries lives in the Craterlands, a region between the North and the South poles. Mercury is mainly Catholic, Othodox, Singulatarian and Hindu, although many other minorities exist. There are a total of 63 countries in the Craterlands, and here are the major ones. All of these countries operate similarly to the ones in the Miai accordant. Vijaynagar is the most populated country on Mercury, with 514 million residents. It’s capital is Antonovabad, named after Antonov Laghar, half Russian-Indian who was the first person on the moon. Vijaynagar has a large economy, based mainly on coding, food production and fusion engines. The country is famous for its cuisine, and it’s population made up of Hindus, Atheists and small Victorianist and Islamic minorities. The county is a Parliamentary Republic. Novy Sibir is twinned with Vijiaynagar, and it has a population of 387 million. It has a capital right next to Antonovabad, called Laghargorod, which are both located at the first landing site in Mercury. Sibir has an economy mainly based on A.I. research and biotechnology, but it is most famous for dancing and music. It is a presidential republic, and it’s population is mainly made up of Siberian Russians, Kazakhs and Ukrainians. Most of the country is Orthodox, but it has large Atheist and Neopagan communities. Trinity station exerts considerable influence over Mercury, turning the planet into a bastion of Catholicsm. This mainly occured during the New Great Awakening, a large religious revival spanning from 2150 to 2400, where millions of Catholics moved to Mercury in order to escape the conflict and distrust on Earth. This was bolstered by the Earthlifting of Rome and the refugees from the 5th world war, which really devastated the planet. Today, however, the nations are mainly more secular, but this varies, as in Vargassia you can be executed for blasphemy or in Kennedy City, where you can legally perform wiccan rituals next to a cathedral. The nations are still close though, and there is a strong Catholic Mercurian brotherhood that unites the region. Here are some of the more notable ones: * Latinica: This is the largest nation on Mercury when it comes to land Area, and it has the second highest population at 475 million. It has a strong Neo-Roman Empire feel to it, and it adopted similar iconography implemented some of its culture. The country is mainly Italian, French and Iberian. It was set up as an E.U. colony in 2123, and it has grown rapidly since then. * Calmanan: This country is home to the largest phillipino population in the solar system. It is an industrial superpower, and it’s people are known for their iron will and dedication. It is also home to small Spanish and Malay minorities, who have been discriminated against by the government from time to time. * Lunandai: An African Catholic Nation, mainly made up of Angolans who decided to leave Venus and form a more religious society. It is also populated by a lot of Gabonese, Portugese and Congolese, and even a community of East Timorians. The colony was founded in 2211, and it mainly speaks Portugese with a little latin. * Ornico: A Venesuelan and Chilean dominated nation, it originated from a collaboration between the two countries to set up a colony in the region. They landed 10 people in 2102, and they proudly brag about being the first of the Catholic nations of Mercury (although a Devout Catholic set foot on an American mission earlier) * Nueva Chaco: Mainly Argentine, Uruguayan, Paraguayan, Cuban and Panamanian, it is known for having a fun mix of different South American cultures, despite the fact that it's government is plagued with instibilty. * Salgado: Vargassia is known for it’s very far right politics, and it often receives threats of exile from the Intersolar Council. It is made up of hardcore nationalistic Brazilians, as well as a large Portugese population. * Donpedro: Basically the same as Vargassia, but a little more democratic and a whole lot less polarised. * Visegrad: A powerful nation dominated by Central Europeans. Made up of Poles, Magyars, Croats, Sloviens, Slovaks and Czechs. This was one of the older colonies, and it was created by the European Union in 2123, the same year as Latinica. * Kennedy city: A city created by American Catholics who felt in tune with their religion quite a bit. It is only a city state, but it has a huge population of 45 million. It is home to the space elevator that delivers food and supplies to Trinity Station, as well as ferrying millions of tourists every year. There are dozens of smaller nations in the alliance, hailing from several hundred ethnicities and cultures, but all united under the golden cross of the Pope. There were also quite a bit of breakaway states in the region, such as the Republic of Fouche (a French Secular State) and Los Altos (a Victorianist breakaway state mainly made up of Central Americans). Another major power in the Mercurian Craterlands are the Singulatarian cults. The Singulatarians are a religion hellbent on creating the perfect A.I. God to lead humanity into a new age. They are lead by the god makers, a group of major coders selected from across the Solar System. They are divided into 8 teams, each working on an aspect to improve the A.I. The leader of the religion is the High Developer, also known as the prophet. The Singulatarians came together to form a nation in the southern regions of the craterlands, known as Petrapolis. It is a multiethnic nation, with the only requirement of citizenship being coding skills and a contribution to the god. People who cannot code are considered second class citizens, and they build databases and assist the upper class of coders. It is rumored that the god is 90% complete, and it has plans to completely transform the solar system, including building a Martrioshka brain for itself, which would really turn it into a god. Dystopias of the South While the North of Mercury is home peaceful religious retreats, the south is a special intersolar zone where ideologies on the verge of extremism can be practiced, and they are legally referred to as ‘Dystopias’ (the actual colonies themselves do not like this term, but that is what they are legally branded as). Apparently, many of them are very popular and actually attract people to come over, as many of them have giving birth banned entirely. The Primitalist Company is probably out there when it comes to insanity. The country was formed by funding from the Dyson Corporation as a giant experiment. It is located in a giant cave in the Merucurian underground that has a self contained Earth-like environment, with lot of berry bushes, lakes with fish and peaceful animals. Doesn’t sound very dystopian, does it? Well, there is a fairly large group of people, numbering in about 10,000, who choose to live here. The scary part is that they choose to have their higher intelligence stripped from them, undergo sterilisation and are dumped into the environment, where they just live like animals, trying to live, sometimes fighting and mating all the time (to no avail). Many of them also undergo some body modification as well before entering. They are known as the Ziyou Ren (free people) and they remain in their environments while being monitored by scientists. Apparently, joining the Ziyou Ren is popular, and many billionaires and trillionaires dump massive amounts of money into turning themselves into Ziyou Ren. This is so popular that there is a ten year long waiting list to get in, which makes people pay more to skip. Obviously, the program causes hundreds of moral dilemmas, but it makes money so it is fine! Southern Mercury is also home to several hive minds, although these have a lot more regulations than some other ones, mainly located in the K-belt and some Comets. There are a total of a thousand hive minds with varying populations from a few hundred to a million, all with very different ideologies and degrees of control. All of the hive minds are forced to give their members at least some independent thought and the ability to leave, or they may risk banishment into the K-belt. The Hive minds generally go try and get an economy running, and they spend most of the excess on advertising their hive as a good place to live. Surprisingly, many of them are, and millions of people sign up to become ‘drones’ of the hives. Here are some of the main types of hives: * Corporate Hives: These are the most common type of hive minds. New drones have pleasure releasing devices plugged into their brains, so that working is not too difficult for them. They work on helping to keep the colony afloat, as well as making money for a company or corporation. The drones are paid very high wages, and they have the power to opt out of working when they want. Some corporate hives have their drones do work at the location, while some others send drones across the solar system. Drone labor is very popular among poor workers, as no experience is necessary in order to do it, and there are very strict safety regulations in place. * Communal hives: These hives have no purpose other than giving someone a place to live. Mind control is only done for specific hours each day, and that is usually with pleasure releasing devices plugged in. They are just places where people can live, not much more. These have relaxed regulations, and children are allowed to be born into them. * Religious hives: These hives are a little more crude, but many people still choose to be a part of them. They have their brains relaxed as they spend days worshipping and performing religious rituals, sometimes trying to keep the colony afloat. Religious hives are mainly Singulatarian, Victorianist and neo-pagan, although several other religions do the same. The drones are considered as true champions of the religion and are often held in very high regard. * Thought hives: These hives remove all senses from their drones, only giving them the ability to think. They ponder over the mysteries of the universe as well as come up with new ideas and philosophies. Many of the top writers and philosophers of the solar system partook in a though hive at one point. Other hives exist, of course, but these are the most common. The Mercurian South is also home to several nudist colonies and strange sex based cultures (well I guess that is stuck in your head now). There are other strange dystopias, such as extremist Matriarchies and Patriarchies (both have a problem with skewed sex ratios) as well as genderless colonies. The largest dystopia of them all, is the Commonwealth of Equal people, home to 50 million people. This dystopia has a lot more relaxed regulations placed on it, as it is generally a little less extreme. The Commonwealth is a zero property society, and everything belongs to everyone. It is essentially a perfect communist state (yep, they exist now). Each person has to share their property, and many ‘social constructs' such as families, class structures, government tiers and even money are vanished, and everyone has to contribute equally to the Commonwealth, or they are just kicked out. The government is a full democracy, as people have full control over the government. Work is divided equally based on ability and the only time money is brought up is when people are trying to keep the colony afloat. A new language that is very different from almost all other languages that uses extremely unconventional grammar and sentence structure was developed to be the lingua franca of the colony, and it is near impossible to learn without downloading the language, and extremely difficult to translate. It sounds like Aliens in late 20th century movies mumbling together. So, that is Mercury, the heart of the Catholic faith along with many religious retreats from other faiths, and some weird shit that goes on in the south.